<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>(Finally) Over by BlueAlmond</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26622616">(Finally) Over</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueAlmond/pseuds/BlueAlmond'>BlueAlmond</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Canon Compliant, Introspection, Regret, Survivor Guilt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:33:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26622616</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueAlmond/pseuds/BlueAlmond</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The monster was locked away for good.</p><p>So Albus should be happy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>(Finally) Over</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He should be fine.</p><p>Everything is finally over. He’s locked the monster away for good, and the world in its entirety is either celebrating or facing consequences for their inhumane actions. And they all likely have put him on a pedestal so high that the fall would definitely kill him. But it’s okay. He’s probably safe up there. He took away the platform of the monster, and it doesn’t seem like his brother will try to reveal his embarrassing secrets anytime soon. So he’s safe. After nearly half a century, everything is finally over and he can bury his shame even deeper. He can stop struggling, and the nightmares will hopefully stop. He did what needed to be done and he will no longer feel the need to recoil when faced with admiration and trust he never deserved but got anyway. He can stop swallowing down truths and spitting out half-lies at every question. He can finally stop wondering ‘what if’ and try to have a life without feeling guilty every morning for waking up.</p><p>He should be fine.</p><p>By all means, his torment should be over. The monster is locked away, and no one discovered his pile of secrets, no one even suspected of his largest mistake, and he is now free to forget all about it. He can forget. He can relax. He can be—</p><p>He <em>should</em> be happy. The monster is gone.</p><p>Or at least it should be, but somehow, it is staring right back at him when he looks in the mirror, same as always since he was eighteen.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was listening to 'Overwhelmed' by Royal &amp; The Serpent and ended up with this in a notebook on my lap before I noticed. Just a small thing because depression is a bitch, but hey, at least chpter 16 of AUAS is already over 5k words so I think I'll (hopefully) be posting it soon!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>